ANTHONY WALKER and CHAU KWONG WING
The process of managing the design and construction of a project on behalf of a client may be analysed using project management theory based on a contingency approach. The…
Abstract
The process of managing the design and construction of a project on behalf of a client may be analysed using project management theory based on a contingency approach. The analysis provided by this approach, whilst useful for understanding the interaction of the parts of the system, the functions of project management and the effectiveness of the organization structure, may be limited by not incorporating an economic explanation of how a project organization structure is chosen. The transaction cost approach to the study of economic organization may provide a theoretical basis for such an explanation. This approach holds that an understanding of transaction cost economizing is central to the study of organizations as it determines whether functions are provided by the market or by hierarchy. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between these two powerful approaches in explaining the structuring and management of project organizations on behalf of clients and to explain the benefits of combining these approaches in furthering construction project management theory.
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Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these…
Abstract
Current issues of Publishers' Weekly are reporting serious shortages of paper, binders board, cloth, and other essential book manufacturing materials. Let us assure you these shortages are very real and quite severe.
Allan H. Church, Lorraine M. Dawson, Kira L. Barden, Christina R. Fleck, Christopher T. Rotolo and Michael Tuller
Benchmark surveys regarding talent management assessment practices and interventions of choice for organization development (OD) practitioners have shown 360-degree feedback to be…
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Benchmark surveys regarding talent management assessment practices and interventions of choice for organization development (OD) practitioners have shown 360-degree feedback to be a popular tool for both development and decision-making in the field today. Although much has been written about implementing 360-degree feedback since its inception in the 1990s, few longitudinal case examples exist where interventions have been applied and their impact measured successfully. This chapter closes the gap by providing research findings and key learnings from five different implementation strategies for enhancing 360-degree feedback in a large multi-national organization. Recommendations and implications for future research are discussed.
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We school administrators, like “practical” men everywhere, claim to have little use for theory. In this we delude ourselves, for we all theorize. The real distinction lies not…
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We school administrators, like “practical” men everywhere, claim to have little use for theory. In this we delude ourselves, for we all theorize. The real distinction lies not between theory and practice, but between good theory and bad theory. Good theory is a hypothesis which has undergone verification and which has potential for explaining and predicting events, and for the production of new knowledge. The development of theory, with its constant demand for semantic accuracy and simplicity, is essential as a guide to research, and as a guide to action (e.g. in administration) where it should be regarded as a relational map rather than as an itinerary. The work of Halpin, Guba and Getzels, for example, illustrates that no theory is likely to be the theory. The development of a science of administration is dependent upon such theories. The alchemist described his observations in a half‐mythical language full of metaphors and allegories, not In scientific concepts. Today we appear to live only in an age of educational alchemy.
Plans of work for construction projects are published by various interest groups with increasing frequency. Each purports to explain how (all) construction projects should be…
Abstract
Plans of work for construction projects are published by various interest groups with increasing frequency. Each purports to explain how (all) construction projects should be organized and it can be very difficult to assess their relative benefits and the circumstances most appropriate for their use. Techniques for analysing organizational structures have been available for some decades, but are rarely applied to construction projects. Such techniques can be criticized for omitting non‐structural aspects of project management, such as leadership and other behavioural traits but they are ideal for analysing the strengths and weaknesses of documents describing formal organizational structures. A model for evaluating plans of work is presented and by way of example, a scheme produced by the Construction Industry Board (CIB, UK) is analysed by comparison with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) plan of work. The results show that the CIB scheme does not provide proper guidance for the management of projects, neither does it allocate responsibilities to participants. This analysis shows that such techniques are capable of providing useful benchmarks for assessing the differences between plans of work. They enable impartial assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different schemes.
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James W. Smither, Manuel London, Richard R. Reilly, Raymond Flautt, Yvette Vargas and Ivy Kucine
This paper hypothesized that ratees who share their multisource feedback with raters and ask for suggestions would improve more than other ratees. The participants were 5,335…
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This paper hypothesized that ratees who share their multisource feedback with raters and ask for suggestions would improve more than other ratees. The participants were 5,335 ratees in a large, global corporation who received multisource feedback. Nine months after the initial survey, there was a follow‐up survey in which raters indicated whether the feedback recipient had shared the feedback and asked for suggestions. One year after the initial survey, there was a second multisource feedback survey. It was found that sharing feedback and asking for suggestions accounted for only a very small (albeit statistically significant) proportion of variance in improvement over time. This paper discusses factors that may affect the impact of sharing feedback and asking for suggestions following multisource feedback.
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Tests and exercises on the sliding‐head and standard types of single‐spindle automatic lathe are described in this fifth article. Next month Mr Walker concludes the series with a…
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Tests and exercises on the sliding‐head and standard types of single‐spindle automatic lathe are described in this fifth article. Next month Mr Walker concludes the series with a discussion of the place of shapers, planers, horizontal borers, jig borers and gear cutting machines in the laboratory; he also takes a look at some new techniques and possible future developments
In our December 1960 issue Mr Walker discussed the functions and equipping of a College machine tool laboratory. He also introduced briefly the subject of the tests and…
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In our December 1960 issue Mr Walker discussed the functions and equipping of a College machine tool laboratory. He also introduced briefly the subject of the tests and experiments suitable as laboratory work. The present article is the first of a short series giving more detailed suggestions for laboratory work on the various types of machine tool
The prices of construction resources (construction cost) have been increasing faster than construction output prices (construction price) in Hong Kong since the mid‐1970s, giving…
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The prices of construction resources (construction cost) have been increasing faster than construction output prices (construction price) in Hong Kong since the mid‐1970s, giving rise to a long‐term divergence between the two price trends. As the difference has existed for quite a long time, it cannot be adequately explained by a short‐term change in supply and demand conditions. The present paper introduces the major indices that reflect the trends of the prices of construction resources and outputs in Hong Kong. It also attempts to explain, from an economic point of view, the major factors which contributed to the divergence between the long‐term trends of the prices of construction resources and outputs. One of the conclusions is that, for the past 25 years, the productive efficiency of the Hong Kong building industry has benefited from and been greatly upgraded by imported construction technologies, as well as by a burgeoning quality of human resources. The data and examples quoted in the present paper are sided towards building construction. Therefore, the scope of investigation of this paper, strictly speaking, is confined to the building industry, and does not include the building services and civil engineering subsectors. However, because of the higher degree of mechanization and faster technological progress in the civil engineering and building services subsectors, the present author believes that the results and conclusions should also be applicable to the whole construction industry.
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Emily D. Campion and Michael A. Campion
This literature review is on advanced computer analytics, which is a major trend in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). The authors focus specifically on…
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This literature review is on advanced computer analytics, which is a major trend in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). The authors focus specifically on computer-assisted text analysis (CATA) because text data are a prevalent yet vastly underutilized data source in organizations. The authors gathered 341 articles that use, review, or promote CATA in the management literature. This review complements existing reviews in several ways including an emphasis on CATA in the management literature, a description of the types of software and their advantages, and a unique emphasis on findings in employment. This examination of CATA relative to employment is based on 66 studies (of the 341) that bear on measuring constructs potentially relevant to hiring decisions. The authors also briefly consider the broader machine learning literature using CATA outside management (e.g., data science) to derive relevant insights for management scholars. Finally, the authors discuss the main challenges when using CATA for employment, and provide recommendations on how to manage such challenges. In all, the authors hope to demystify and encourage the use of CATA in HRM scholarship.